Realty One

Monday, August 15, 2016

THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Photo Credit: Matt Smith

A TEAM UNDER FIRE

REGINA -- Something really stinks.

And it's not just the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 1-6 record, but that's putrid enough.

No, Saturday's 19-10 Rider loss to the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium capped one of the worst weeks in recent memory for this franchise. Now the 2016 Roughriders season is hanging in the balance and we've barely passed mid-August.

BUT! But, but, but, but, the current situation of the Saskatchewan Roughriders extends far past Saturday's game, and maybe even beyond this current season.

Twice in the past two weeks, the Riders were slapped with fines for breaking CFL rules. $15,000 for a ratio infringement on August 3, and then $60,000 last Thursday for roster violations. For those who don't understand these things (and apparently there are many), Rider Coach and GM Chris Jones got nailed for not playing the minimum amount of Canadians against B.C. on July 16, and further for having too many extra players around at practice who aren't under contract or on the team's roster.

Then, on Sunday, TSN's Gary Lawless reported the Riders were dinged with a $5,000 fine for prancing on the midfield logo in Calgary for too long two games ago. That's about as ticky-tack as it gets. Can somebody say "Witch Hunt"?

Frankly, for what I'd heard about the roster situation over the past five weeks and the subsequent investigation by the CFL, I figured one of two things was going to happen: Jones would've talked his way out of it and walked away unscathed, OR Jones and the Riders would face the firing squad to the tune of a $250,000 fine and the loss of first round draft picks for a period of years. (A la the Portland Winterhawks or New England Patriots).

However when the investigation was completed and the fine was announced on Thursday, CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge slapped Saskatchewan with a $60,000 penalty. He split the difference.

My first reaction? "I was expecting way worse". And for fear of making the situation worse, I tempered my comments on-air about Orridge's decision. That is, until I saw a Tweet from TSN's Dave Naylor which said this was the maximum fine allowable by CFL rules.

Was this the highest fine in CFL history? Nobody seems to know. And that's the way things go in the CFL these days. You wouldn't want to actually announce facts like these when issuing news releases of this magnitude.

But oh no, it's the Roughriders whose conduct, behaviour and activities have compromised the reputation of the CFL as Orridge stated in his news release on Thursday.

The same 1-6 Saskatchewan Roughriders who are currently leading the league in attendance. The Gden Goose. The CFL has a problem alright, but it definitely ain't us.

More on that in a moment. A lot more.

However first, in my opinion, the Roughriders did get off easy in the arena of public opinion on the roster fine. If the Riders were guilty of such a sophisticated scandal as reporters Justin Dunk and Scott Mitchell alleged (of housing, feeding and paying non-roster players), they surely would've faced far more-significant sanctions.

However none of that was brought up by the CFL on Thursday in their decision.

The Roughriders could seriously look at action against Dunk and Mitchell if those cavalier accusations are proven to be false. Rider President Craig Reynolds' assertion on Friday that no non-roster players were being paid aligns with what I knew of the situation.

Another thought which bounced around my head was, "We're sure lucky Arash Madani is at the Olympics in Brazil right now" because the Sportsnet reporter loves scandals like these and takes no prisoners when it comes to exposing the truth. But it's Canada. The minimum effort will suffice.

If the Roughriders were an NFL team, ESPN would have a production truck parked outside Mosaic Stadium and they'd be broadcasting live for days. It would end up being a 30 for 30 documentary.

To me, if Jones really thought these tryouts were breaking the rules, he would've held them somewhere else in the city and no one would have even known it was going on. Instead, the tryouts were done in plain view at Mosaic Stadium and on July 15 when the B.C. Lions came into town, they saw it themselves.

But no, the Riders got off fairly easily but Orridge's swipe at them in his news release is something I'm not yet ready to let go of.

But the bigger situation here is where the Saskatchewan Roughriders are going under Chris Jones. Personally I like his direction, but others in the Rider Nation do not.

I'm not going to go back into my monologue on how I'm sick of playing by the rules and losing while watching other teams break the rules and win. (Go back to Friday's SportsCage podcast if you want to hear that). But the fact is Chris Jones is the CFL's answer to New England's Bill Belichik. He's always going to find a way to use his influence, bend the rules, find the loopholes, or occasionally break the rules in order to consistently win.

That's what I want in a Head Coach and in a General Manager.

And as far as this organization goes, any businessman would spend tens of thousand of dollars in order to make millions. That's what winning does.

But the Riders are 1-6 under Jones you say? To that I ask you who was last year's Grey Cup-winning Head Coach?

I thought so.

Zip it.

When I heard Craig Reynolds was racing home across the prairies from a vacation in B.C. in order to address reporters here on Friday, I thought to myself, "He'd best Google some quotes from Patriots owner Robert Kraft before he gets here".

I took the liberty of doing so myself. Here's an excerpt from an ESPN.com column from April 1/2008 when Belichik and the Patriots were nailed for "SpyGate", the scandal involving the videotaping of other teams' sideline signals:

- "New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick made the rounds on Tuesday, apologizing for and explaining Spygate.

In an emotional speech before NFL owners, Kraft and coach Belichick apologized for the franchise's involvement in the scandal.

With apparent tension in the meeting room, Kraft asked for time to speak and apologized for Spygate in which a videographer was caught taping signals of Jets defensive coaches. After an investigation, the Patriots lost a first-round draft choice and $250,000 and Belichick was fined $500,000.

Kraft spoke of the values of the partnership with the league and how disappointed he was that his team brought negative attention to the league. Colts coach Tony Dungy described the speech as heartfelt and excellent, saying "I appreciated what he had to say."

Others who listened believed Kraft was speaking from the heart. Once Kraft was done talking, the entire room broke into applause.

Belichick also requested time to speak. As he told reporters earlier in the day, he accepted the punishment and thought that action showed no gray area in regard to the rules involving spying. Since the season opener against the Jets, Belichick said he has changed the entire operation and is now moving forward with no misunderstanding."

Ahem.

That sounds exactly what went down here on Friday.

By the way the Patriots have appeared in two Super Bowls since Spygate, winning once in 2015. And now their quarterback Tom Brady will serve a four-game suspension to begin this season for his role in DeflateGate.

That's about all I have to say on that other than I'm glad Chris Jones is in charge here and hope he is for many, many years to come. I've had only one five-minute, "off the record" discussion with the man but it's clear our philosophies mesh.

And regarding Jeffrey Orridge and his claim that the Riders damaged the reputation of the CFL, well, that's a very disappointing statement for the Commissioner to make.

The CFL had better look in its own backyard when it comes to the Mickey Mouse nature of this league. I could go on for days citing examples but the first one that comes to mind is the mole in the CFL office who leaked all this year's draft picks to Sportsnet's Justin Dunk on 2016 Draft Day, completely ruining TSN's live Draft coverage. Perhaps Dunk was sitting in the league office himself and had access to the picks. Either way, TSN was livid. Not good for the CFL and to our knowledge, nothing was done about it.

What about the leak of the Riders' chats with Greg Hardy, or the worst logo launch in the history of pro sports at last year's Grey Cup in Winnipeg?

Those are just the public instances you all know about. What about the ones you don't?

A lot of the finger-pointing in the CFL right now is being directed at the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the heartbeat of the league. The marquee franchise.

People around here are still furious at the non-Pass Interference call against Naaman Roosevelt on the final play of the third quarter Saturday night, and a missed facemasking penalty against Darian Durant in the game's waning moments.

If Stampeders defensive back Jamar Wall had been called for Pass Interference on Naaman Roosevelt upon review - which he should have been - the Riders would've carried the lead into the fourth quarter and who knows how the game would have played out after that?

Some "fans" are pointing out that TSN's Glen Suitor stated that it wasn't Pass Interference.

So what? When did Glen Suitor become the CFL's Director of Officiating?

Besides, Suitor even said, "There was shoulder-to-shoulder contact on the play". Wall didn't go for the ball. He KNOCKED ROOSEVELT OVER before the ball arrived. That should've been a black and white call, not left up to judgment.

That potentially game-changing call was made out of the Command Centre at CFL head office in Toronto.

After the game Chris Jones and Rider linebacker Greg Jones alluded to the fact that non-call was a major factor in the outcome of the game. However they were smart enough not to say anymore.

So the Riders are 1-6. It is what it is. The prospects for the playoffs do not look good. The Chris Jones-led Roughriders will survive and ultimately thrive, but it might not be in 2016. I sometimes wonder if that was even the plan all along anyway.

And most of the anti-Roughrider bias these days seems to be coming out of CFL headquarters in Toronto, the very office which is overseen by one Jeffrey Orridge.

On Friday, September 16 Orridge will be in town for Plaza of Honor festivities. On the agenda is a Q&A.

No argument from me Rod. The whole stupid thing about the players situation was that Jones et al. could easily have had those guys go anywhere else in the city of Regina to have them run drills that wasn't the stadium. For whatever reason, someone in the league office seems to have it in for the Riders this year. I can't wait for this team to gel and start putting some W's up to stick it to them!

Thank you for this great read Rod. Riders got caught, and paid the fines. I now want the microscope to be all over the other teams in CFL from this day forward until the end of season. I also agree with you that the Riders with a 1-6 record lead the CFL in average attendance by a lot. Cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver with 2 million to 5 million people in their areas are averaging 17,000-21,000 a game. The Blue Jays had over 45,000 per game all weekend long. Even Edmonton and Calgary with over 1 million ppl in their areas are drawing terrible crowds on average this season.

Great read Roddy and thanks for your opinion on the week that was. Never a dull moment in Rider Nation. I am sure that the Comish will cancel out on the Plaza of Honor weekend. He will likely need the CIA to have his back if he shows up!!

Rod; While I agree with everything you wrote about the CFL commissioner(all negative)may I remind you that your little saint Chris Jones was fined as an Eskimo coach also. Yes two years ago he was fined for keeping his players in the tunnel and delaying the singing of our National anthem on consecutive weeks followed by not even having his team on the field for the anthem. That's just blatant disrespect to everybody in this country. He might be your kinda guy but he darn sure shouldn't represent the hard working honest people of this province. With his street punk attitude he just can't help but break rules and the sooner he's gone the better.

There is only 1 chance to make a first impression...When the Riders hired him, I was quite happy but after much thought maybe it is not the best decision to make one person the VP..GENERAL MANAGER,HEAD COACH AND DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR. The riders gave a unique opportunity to one person. A position like no other in the Cfl They gave it to a guy who just won a GC but basically he is a defensive guru and not much more.I am not impressed at all.Belechik has been coaching since the 70's and has been a head coach for 25 years.Impossible to compare the 2.Jones will be here until he is canned or another opportunity comes up in the US and that is it.In addition to the Riders brand losing its gleam.i believe the Jones brand has suffered as well.No one person is capable of that with no fault to Jones for that but maybe the Riders thought he was Belichek and granted him knighthood in Riderland. That is no fault of Jones for accepting what the Riders were offering.I really hope I am 100% wrong in my assumptions as The Riders will be my team till death Just a crazy thought but what if we kept BT and made Lapo the hc and OC .I think we would be better than 1 and 6.POLKABILL from the Peg..

EXCUSES ARE FOR LOSERS!! Never mind the fines, bad calls,missed calls,It really boils down to wins and losses. We are not a very good football club right now and that falls squarely on our Gm's, and the Head Coach. We were lead to believe that this regime could find players but up to this point that is not the truth. There are a few but not nearly enough. The fans have done their part but hopefully we get a contender before Jones flies the coop to another challenge. This one may be too big for him to handle..

Glen Suitor played for the Riders for a long time and every game I watch Saskatchewan playing and him broadcasting I feel that he really is dead against Saskatchewan. Seems to me any and all calls like the one against Roosevelt he is never on Saskatchewan's side for the call. He must have a chip on his shoulder against the Riders for some unknown reason because it seems quite evident in the way he calls it.

Awesome write up Rod, I could not agree more with your point of view and quite frankly I'm sick of this witch hunt. As well I am support the direction of this team and Chris Jones 100%, and feel better about this team today than I did at anytime last year. Go Riders. Clark

I agree with much if not most of your column. I have been a CFL ( and specifically a Rider fan ) since 1962 and have never heard of the fines that have recently been leveled against the Riders. A fine for the Canadian / American ratio during the game has never been pubically leveled. ( that I know of ). Someone had to have complained to the league and there must have been a lot of analyzing of film to confirm it. So be it and we accept it, but I don't believe this is the first time it has happen in our league by other teams as well.

As for the extra players, many of us have wondered about all the coming and goings. Jones is desperately trying to find the right players, but I am sure it is unsettling for a lot of the players too. But so be it.

But the prancing on the logo, is a crock! Again, I have never heard of such a stupid fine and where does the amount come from. Edmonton got fined $1,500 for talking about tampering and the Riders get fined $5,000?? Where is Wally Buono's fine ( should be many ) for intruding onto the field to give referees a piece of his mind? I looked thru the CFL rules, but cant find anything referring to this.

This is not just about revenge by the league against Chris Jones, but against all of us rider fans, who have supported the league for years. I don't think we should pay the last fine and see what Orridge does. He should be man enough to come out here and explain exactly what is going on and where the last fine originated from and what the precidents are for it. I think Huff still has a grudge againt Jones and this is the result.

As for the broadcasts by TSN and Glen Suitor in particular, they have been badly skewed against the Riders. Last year, all they talked about was how well Calgary was adjusting to so many O-lineman being hurt. This year hardly a mention of the Riders issues. It is sickening how he praises the Stamps and Lions. A number of years ago, it was rumoured that Suitor was told by TSN not to praise the Riders during telecasts and he is doing a very good job. If now the CFL Command centre and referees are plotting against the Riders, we need to get to the bottom of this. There were 2 pass interference penalities on the Riders during the TD drive by the Stamps, so this really makes you wonder.

As fans I think we should make it known, we are not happy with the CFL commissioner and direction that the league is going!

Teams have been fined in the past for ratio violations and for taking over a teams logo during the introductions. The reason there is a fine for the logo violation is that it stops a pre-game brawl from happening. For you rider fans, imagine the Stamps came out and stood on the rider logo at centre field as the riders were being introduced.Any guesses at what would've ensued? You are not the first team to be fined for ratio violations and pre-game anctics, and won't be the last.Fans should be blaming the person in charge of the riders, not everyone else.

In 2014 and 2015, we were coached by the 2013 Grey Cup winning coach. What was our record? I don't think having a Grey Cup winning coach means anything.

Why are the Rider's fan favorites? Ponder on that for a second or a minute.

It is because we are considered underdogs. Because we did not have enough money to bring in good players. Because we were seen as a team with heart. It was because we had small players who played big. The list goes on.

I am a fan. I scrape together money to buy season tickets. I expect to be entertained. I want to feel good after some of the games. Because I am a fan, I should be allowed to speak my mind. I should not be told to shut up because I was never a player, a coach, part of the media, etc.

There are other ways to get across my dissatisfaction. The Rider's balance sheet shows my dissatisfaction.

Supports the CFL's belief that the name on the back of the Jersey is less important than the Logo on the front. The CFL despises the fact that it is the Riders and Rider Nation that keep this league afloat. Orridge is riding on the Riders coattail so that the League doesn't die. Yes the Rider haters are loving how the Riders are dragged through the mud,but like the 100th Anniversary Video says "...The bad times will end!"

Orridge seems to be not understand the realities of the CFL as well as the sask. That said, If we thought the taking of an entire coaching staff immediately after a Grey cup would go without repercussions we would be pretty naive.

Rod has said how this staff is treating him like gold and how he would go to the wire for them. This column is showing that. One comment I do take issue with is the part about who won the Grey cup last year? I would ask who won the Grey cup in 2013 and where are they now? Past performance gets you the job. Current performance keeps it.

Rules are there for every team, regardless if others are doing it and haven't been caught yet the Riders were and have to pay the piper. As a long time fan and season ticket holder, I'm beyond frustrated with the last three years and sick of this team being run like a "community team" still. If we're the richest team then we need to act like it and be a contender year over year and we're not and quite frankly don't appear to be one for 2-3 more years.

Put the fines aside, and now answer me this....are we building a program for the long run or are we building team to win 3-4 games this year and going to be back in this mess a year from now? Second part to my question how much of an impact with this year's mistakes/fines add to players not wanting to play here?

We're better than looking to excuses Rider fans, we can be big enough to admit we got caught and chalk it up to mistakes but lets not look to make excuses...rather, lets hold this regime to account and demand them to build a program, get better and quick looking to knee jerk week to week roster building.

-Mark Cohon wasn't perfect... but man, he was sure better than Orridge.-And the Riders are ruining the integrity of the CFL? What a joke. The Riders have held this league up for years. What a low blow by Orridge.-And I agree, Roddy; to quote Shakespeare, something stinks in the state of Denmark!!!

The CFL is not being transparent in its in how it is coming up with the decisions and how it arrives at appropriate fine. In regards to the ratio violation, the CFL should have stated on what plays the Riders were in violation. As for injured player players practicing and non-roster playing practicing with the team, the CFL should have named the players who were doing this. Then for this latest fine, the CFL should have provided proof that the Riders were on the logo too long and what the Riders should have done to avoid the fine.

IF the CFL had been more transparent, and shown exactly what the Riders did wrong, then we would be more accepting of the punishment. But with no transparency we are left wondering.

All in all this has not been a good couple of weeks for the Riders, but the image of the CFL has also been tarnished by holding one team to a different standard than the rest of the member clubs.

Quite frankly I have heard enough about the Rider woes. I am a rider fan forever and sit and listen to people berate our team every year but do not sway from being a faithful fan. I want to be entertained by some really exciting football and I have to say this last game against Calgary got the heart pumping and put the excitement back into the game. Of course a win would have been fabulous, and I never used to mind him but Bo Levi Mitchell has become a cocky ---, a good match for our head coach, he also is a cocky---, but both are winners and very good at what they do, that's what we want in our league. All the negative this last week worked in our favor and our team was playing very good football against the best in the CFL. Darian had a very good game and I would expect he has returned to form now for the season. Let's stay behind our team and watch the natural progression of a complete makeover team. There are going to be mistakes and unfair calls and injuries to deal with but every game will be something for the team to learn from and that is what we want. Hopefully the fines are over with and focus is back on the team getting better. I'll be waiting faithfully and watching the progression with pride and I do believe we have a head coach right now that can get it done. He'll get better at his job and so too will the entire team.

Someone within the Rider organization should review the game footage of each of the Rider opponents and see if they are abiding by ALL of the rules. Then submit the evidence to the league. I would tend to think that since mistakes do happen, other teams would also be fined for ratio violations.

In regards how other teams operate in having 'injured' players practicing with the team, Rider fans across the country should start showing up at practices incognito and watch other teams. When there are other teams are violating the rules, video evidence should be submitted and those teams should also be punished.

As for the latest fine, once again when a visiting team takes too long on the centre logo, that should also be sent to the league.

If the CFL wants to get into these types of ticky-tacky rule violations, two can play at this game. With the Riders having more resources than most other teams, the other teams are going to be the ones who end up paying a bigger price.

This was a great blog to read Rod, very passionate! I am a fan of the Riders but not very knowledgeable about the rules so all these fines felt like a punch in the gut each time. You can bet Rider nation just became a huge group of football cops from here on in. I hope the Commissioner can handle the mail when he starts receiving our reviews of all the infractions that are going on in this dastardly devious espionage type game we call football. Spies in the stands, eyes in the skies, moles in the office when will it end? In Dave Dickinson's words to his team, " don't poke the bear", well Rider Nation is a Big Ol' Bear and it's been poked and it's pissed!!!! All the teams out there that are chuckling at the Riders expense beware, we are everywhere!!!!!

It would have been nice to have you quote the rule about a team staying too long on the other teams logo. I have never heard of such a rule. It is new? You may notice a prevalent theme here on your Blog. Rider nation is pissed about the missed penalties that the Command Centre can't bring themselves to call, but more than that they are feeling there is a which hunt being carried on by the trolls running the CFL in the "Centre of the Universe" Note to the Commish...drag down the team that brings out the Fans in every park when they play and you bring down the CFL. Continue at your own peril.

Well done Rod! I agree with your comments. There seems to be too much negative attention to the Riders and Chris Jones. However, I guess social media makes that too easy. I was hoping that the CFL might also address the social media habits of some players and their statements about the Riders. I am sure the NFL would address similar issues.I am really disappointed about the negative media bandwagon that has developed around the league, including some of the local media. Many members of the media that cover sports and the CFL (including TSN) have made ridiculous comments about the Riders and Jones. It seems there is a rumour or incident (ex., the post game handshake) and there is an article up instantly on the internet about Jones and/or the Riders. 3DownNation articles are a prime example. Things have become petty and childish in my opinion.As far as cheating, I have always thought that other teams were paying and keeping players in town etc. Jones I am sure is not the first here to do it either. Perhaps Jones was too casual about it? I really don't know for sure. I think that may be the point - no one really knows for sure what happened other than the Rider management and the league.Finally, I also agree that Jones and company will get it done. He may have some growing pains along the way with the team. Jones and company are totally committed to improving the team. There were some previous Rider regimes where I did not feel this way. The players are playing hard for him overall. Morale at practices seems very good!I enjoy the team, and I also enjoy Jones' work ethic and competitive attitude. Also, I enjoy watching the occasional practice (I really like how Jones runs them) and watching the beautiful new stadium go up. The Riders have a lot of good people working for them. The team is improving and will get better. We really need to move on from this negative stuff by the media and get behind this team! I notice many of the media are now backing off from previous comments.Great job again Rod - way to hang in there and stand up to the negativity!

I agree 100% with Imagirl. Just because Jones won the Grey Cup last year means that we have to Zip it?.???? I doubt it as the saying goes what have you done for me today. To that I would say that Jones has done very little. Rod you like Jones because he's a Rebel. Funny how Chamblin won the Grey Cup and then everything started going down hill afterwards. With his final release coming in 2015 once our season was lost and Chamblin had lost the locker room. Chamblin was a rebel too. Making his own rules as the seasons progressed. I guess that's why Jones keeps saying how great the guys are in the locker room. He knows that when you are 5-1 then 6-1 then 7-1 eventually you are going to lose the locker room. I can't think of a team where the players are going to continue to believe in you when you can't coach a team to win some games. I was sickened listening to the Green Zone the day after the fines came down and then the following day during the afternoon show with their day time crew. They all ran the show like a Gotcha journalism. Trying to get the Listners of SK to turn on the team by speaking their dissapointment and embarrassment on the radio. Of course there is always those who bite that baited hook. Ho cares what Jamie Nye or Darrell Davis thinks should have happened in fines. How they felt the team should be losing draft picks and giving up 250K. They are not good for the Riders in anyway. Then this station is looking for excuses to make light of things because... Well this station is hired by the Riders and is the voice of the Riders. It sure would be nice to find something in the middle. One that does discuss how the paying fan is not getting their money's worth in on field entertainment. I don't think it's unfair to ask for a victory every 3 games. I haven't had a good feeling from this team since the first half of the season in 2014. I suspect it will be another year or two before we will feel that again. Last but least... Do I have faith that this GM, Head Coach and coaching staff have the ability to pull this team out of this horrible tail spin?I thought for a long time and I have to say.... no. I no longer have the faith. It seemed to have disappeared as quick as $100K in fines.

Maybe time to shine some light on other teams' misdeeds. Reportedly the Stumps are paying the Bovine 320 per. For a top tier QB? Where is the rest hidden? Betcha John Murphy could fill in a few blanks.

Re:CommishThere are a few bright spots under his watch: PED policy, trying to address on field official performance by teaming up with NFL officials, draft kings. And I didn't mind the timing of the league's branding change, why not do it when the most eyes are watching?

Think about how close the Riders came to winning this game. Two missed FGs, fewer dropped passes, and they could have made a game of it. Personally, I WANT a coach who is going to do whatever it takes to win. This is not a popularity contest. Keep in mind the pile of dung Jones was handed. As Darryl Davis pointed out, the team as somehow ended up with the worst Canadian starters in the league. Tough not to agree with that. Look at how poor the punt coverage was. Several times during the game, Bartel had monster kicks that were squandered because the coverage team couldn't close. Calm down people. Everything is going to be ok.

Rod, you had to expect I would say something here. The maximum fine for a roster violation is $15,000. The riders were guilty of 4 infractions including, which you did not mention, players on the 6 game injury list practicing with the team. Everyone that knows anything about the CFL knows this is not allowed... SO I am shocked to hear this is news to Chris Jones. They also had non-contract players practicing with roster players.. again a big NO No.. For your latest accusation of a witch hunt. The riders were fined $5,000 for not clearing the mid-field area.... Every home team has the right to introduce their players before a game... the players come running out of the tunnel and collect at mid field... This is not possible if the visiting team in congregating there. Last year as the Edmonton Eskimo coach. Chris Jones was warned about this and then was fined 2 weeks later for doing exactly the same things... Jump a head a year and he does the same thing as the rider's coach. Does he have some form of dementia that prevents him from remember the rules of the game and if so why is he in charge of a football team? NO, I am sorry Chris Jones knows exactly what he is doing ... and is guilty of every offense he has been charged with. Jeffery Orridge is correct... the riders are an embarrassment to the CFL. the only reason he was not charged with more offenses like paying off roster players is that the league did not have sufficient evidence but as I understand the investigation is on going and the league has not finished with their sanctions. You want to stop the witch hunt... the riders need to release Chris Jones from his contract. They have adequate reasoning. Cheating is a valid reason to void a contract.

Dating myself but this feels like 1981-82 Regina Pats and Bill Laforge's approach to building an us vs the world team building mentality. A psychological approach that can fascinating in nature to follow. Either creates a champion or burns and crashes due to outside pressures. Either way, builds the fan base as they buy into the narrative.

It's called Karma. You think deflategate would have mattered if spygate didn't already happen? No they bent the rules and then we're so cocky to bend them again and got caught again. Riders stole an entire teams coaching staff, a move that now has a rule attached to it. If you're gonna pull that, others will watch what else you try to do. People have watched and the truth has come out. The seasons not even half over yet either. Attendance and ratings should have nothing to do with which teams get fined.

Great "Rant" today Rod, it's been tough being a Rider fan for the past 2 seasons. The haters will continue to hate, and the CFL office is providing questionable leadership. After 6 games the band wagon fans are calling for CJ's firing. Vanstone,McCormick,Davis and Nye will be starting the bus to drive CJ out of town. A couple of wins and everything will change.

Is the year over? I don't think so. A "plan" can not be executed in a 7-8 or even 15-16 games. Not when everyone is new, these guys are just trying to figure each other out still. They are still getting their timing down and figuring out the playbook. Idiots will say "they are professionals and are paid and she be able to get it quicker than that". That would be wrong, if it were a few new players meshing into an established system then yes, but not when EVERYBODY AND EVERYTHING is new. Ask the Oilers how a revolving coaching door works out. Stick with Jones , he's the best there is, but give him time to do his thing. 2-3 years to do his thing. We can't be lil impatient sucks. The team has been in every game but two and could easily (or luckily) be at 3-4 wins this year. Be patient. When I hear men or women who never played sports commenting on these matters like they know whats up it just makes you sound like an idiot. It really does. Great blog Roddy as usual.

To the second annon, you are wayyyyyyy out to lunch. You really shouldnt start drinking at 9 am.

CJME has always kicked the Riders when they were down. It has to be their dissatisfaction of not being the voice of the Riders. That belongs to Rod and 620 CKRM. I think the last poster wasn't saying anything negative towards CKRM. Just maybe some comments that were not attacking Jones like J Nye and D Davis or defending Jones. Maybe just someone who isn't attached to the team and has some logic to what took place and why. Some have lost their faith in Jones. But with everything going on with fines and loses piling up. Plus our Head Coach and GM not allowing any questions after his news conference. Just a glaring cold stare. It's hard to find any rapport or connection between the team's leader and the fan base. I hope Jones can turn this around! I will wait for a while before I make my decision. I think this article was very good and sparked a lot of debate. I also feel the CFL should be penalized with PILING ON after the $5k Logo fine. That is the icing on the cake spread on by a horrible puppeteer Commissioner

Roosevelt was not PI! He felt a touch and laid out trying to draw a call. Bush-league tactic that the soft rules have made guys do now. Ref was in great position and let them play football.

The Riders / Patriots comparisons can end at anytime. The closest thing the two teams share is their spot side by each in the alphabet. Let's worry about things that Jones can control... like the defense, offense and special teams. One of these is improving, the other two are hot garbage. 9.33333 points per game in the last 3 weeks.

This calling out a franchise for stealing another teams "entire" coaching staff is a joke! Just an FYI. When a Head Coach leaves for any reason. His assistant coaches are basically out if a job. The new head coach coming in hires his own assistant coaches. Once in a while the new head coach may rehire the OC or the DC but that is very rare. So the EE wooed away Chris Jones from Toronto where he was DC and assistant GM still under contract. To make him the Head Coach and asst GM. Then the Riders basically do the same thing 2 years later. Except make him the GM and head coach. Then Jones hires his unemployed assistant coaches to come with him. But the Riders are guilty or something terrible. Where as the EE that did the same thing with Jones himself are not guilty of anything.

I have to agree. Also the comments about if the Riders would have made the 2 field goals. Or the Ridets didn't drop those passes. For every muffed Rider play there was a muffed Calgary play to match. Plain and simple the Riders were out played and lost again. Please no more of the 3 plays that lost the game. Again the other team can point out 3 close plays that had been completed would have clobbered the losing team.

I woun't bring up Chris Jones history of having his teams late on the field for National anthems, Captains not shaking hands at coin tosses, HIM not shaking hands after a game. Chris can be his own worst enemy.

I guess it's the league's fault this team gives up 35 points a game on average? The fact that you can point to one offensive play as being the turning point is because this neutered offense only take 3 shots a game down field so they don't expose the weak offensive line or glass jawed QB. Maybe the league's fault the place kicker misses chip shot FG's? Ya it's the leagues fault... this is a weak team, don't let them slide by blaming refs and the league for the woes that are obvious from the cheap seats.

Through all of this Sturm und Drang in Riderville (which was brought entirely upon themselves by the Roughriders organization), I am glad I can watch and enjoy the CFL in peace, far away from the pronouncement of Jim Jones...er sorry Rod Pedersen et al.BTW Rod...how much of your soapbox is paid for the Riders?

Calling this a League witch hunt is just asinine. The league has nothing to gain by pissing off its biggest fanbase. What it does show is that Jones has been repeatedly skirting or outright breaking the rules. You do not know how many times he has been warned or what has been said to him. To call these fines, 2 which are blatant rule violations and one that he was penalized for before a conspiracy.... well you've been drinking too much of the Kool-Aid.

I'm as much of a fan as anybody, but even I won't turn a blind eye to rule breaking. Jones is a mistake.

Hey Rod, I could not agree more with your comments! Mr. Orridge who is the CFL commissioner who is really only noticeable by his absence appears to have a personal vendetta against the Riders. Very strange as they are the economic engine that drives the league. The other 8 teams can expect large gate receipts whenever the Riders come to town. Perhaps if the Rider fans in these other cities boycotted these games the Commissioner might come to his senses when TSN shows these games and the stands are half empty!

I'm not sure if fines for exceeding the cap counts towards the largest fine in the league. The Riders have been over the cap a few times. But they were $17K and $28KThe Montreal Alouettes exceeded the salary cap by $108,285, and were fined $116,570.Since they exceeded the cap by more than $100,000, they also lost their first round pick (4th overall) in the 2008 CFL Canadian draft. If we are talking about all fines. Than that has to be the largest. However that as 1 hit. What stings here is its fine after fine after fine. The largest being $60K but all totalling over $100KTruthfully I can't wait for the real football season to start. Simply because what I've seen so far is a soap opera. I just want to watch a game where the Riders actually look like they are winning in all 3 categories. Where they look likethey are going to move the ball in the 4th qtr and put the game to bed in the last few minutes. Until this team has some kind of running game I don't believe that's possible. Just sayin

Because I felt compelled to...because free and open commentary is allowed in this country...and because I think the finger pointing at the league and the Commissioner is completely misplaced. The Riders organization cheated, plain and simple. And if other teams do it, they should be punished as well. But the Riders organization, whether it was Chris Jones on his own or a combined effort, took it to completely ridiculous and egregious levels.The reputation of the league is at stake as well as your Riders reputation. I used to pull for the Riders as I believe a lot of other CFL fans did; even if they weren't their home team. Players like Lancaster and Reed stood for something, something classy and something reputable. But now the leaders of your team has cheapened your reputation and tarnished what the current players are trying to achieve. I no longer have any affection for the Chris Jones-led Riders and as he continues to burn bridges across the league, the Riders will suffer from it.

So that's why I commented. I am not part of any "conspiracy" nor do I think there is one being led from the CFL offices. Own up to the fact your team screwed up and stop trying to circle the wagons; there is no "us against them" here. I believe the majority of CFL fans like the Riders...why try and make it something it is not.

I agree 100% Boner. The Riders have to score more than 10 points. This team just can not get all 3 phases going at the same time. Offence does good then the Defence sucks. Defence finally puts together a game. (Well Calgary couldn't catch) but then our offence and special teams are flat and terrible. Will we honestly win in the second half? If Winnipeg wins Labour Day. Too me that would be the bullet that puts us out of our 2016 misery

Vanstone complaining about Jones but zero articles on the Taman/ Chamblin regime who let Zack Evans go after losing Shologan and then trading Foley for nothing. Protecting Picard instead then cutting him a year later. Losing Butler for nothing. Cutting Jennings. Paying Getzlaf over $225K yr. trading draft choices for guys like Boudreaux and Corey Watson then getting rid of them. Those are the core reasons why the team cant be turned around in6 weeks. You cant build Cdn talent back over night. Didnt help OD traded Messam for a kicker. But by then the major damage was done already. So Vanstones opinion is irrelevant as he does not present a balanced viewpoint.

Any word on if or when Chris Best will be back? Best and Labatte are mainstays on the O-line, along with Fulton. Hope these guys get back before we are 100% out of play-off contention (as well as receiver John Chiles). Durant has been doing his best with the quick throws, but it would be a different offense if he had more time to go for the long ball plays. I hope O'Day and Murphy are down south now at NFL camps searching for the next Kory Sheets (man, do we ever miss him).

So I have seen enough comments on here to say you want to boycott games to leave the stands half empty to prove a point to the commissioner, so what you are saying is we will try and hurt the Cfl financially to get what we want...here is a box of kleenex you bunch of whiners...you arent the only team/coaches to be fined so play by the rules and quit crying and finger pointing cause your losing. Also just so your aware there are a couple/few teams that aren't that far behind your ticket sale average...also it's easy to pick on Toronto's ticket sales but you need to realize a lot of people in Toronto support the Buffalo Bills and also have an NHL/MLB team they support so it really makes it tough for them and by all means I am not a Toronto fan but it is simple to figure out...they don't only support one professional team in there province unlike you guys.

Agreed Barcaboy. Not sure if your an EE fan or Lions Fan or a Stampeders fan. Dosent matter the fact is you are correct. I only wish Bo Mitchel would have kept his nose out of it. He is The Calgary Stampeders saviour. Not the saviour of the CFL

Hang on a minute here. There may be teams with their home gate sales close to SK. What I think some of the comments meant was stop supporting other parks. And no other fans travel like Rider fans. The Toronto has other teams is a poor excuse. So does a lot of other City's. And they still support their CFL team. Frankly it's the diverse culture in Toronto that hurts them. Toronto has a HUGE diverse culture. Most of the citizens who speak Punjabi or come from Syria or South Africa or just about everywhere else except North America has no idea or care about CFL football.

Both of our lines had their a$$es handed to them last game. Maybe our esteemed leader should spend more time coaching and less time looking for loopholes in the rules and searching for ways to p!ss people off. But who am I to say? You like the way he does things and it's your blog.

Most of the morally superior fans (who for the most part don't have any) seem to come out at times like this and air their pet grievances in the way of non factual comments. None of us really don't know the facts for certain. However for the most part even Stevie Wonder can see this is a Huffnagel and Buono run league. Anyone who cares to look can see that Orridge is a fool who's in way over his head. He does what he's told by the power brokers. We've never lost a first round draft pick. We never been $100,000 over the cap and fined as much. YET in spite of this there are a few intellectually challenged morons who continue salivate over the opportunity to knock Jones and his team. The usually stems from some agenda they have. Sadly they will be among the many who will be handing out bouquets when this team brings home all the hardware. They don't deserve to be but they will be there trying to hide their treachery.

Tough times don't last, on;y tough people. Jones has been through worse as a kid and he will prevail and win in spite of the crappy fans and Vanstones of this world. I get this feeling that Jones has the memory of an elephant and I'm sure he will remember those that need to be remembered. The team he took over had been mishandled for years including 2013 and he had to fix other peoples messes. This team wasn't in a position to win this year but somehow the morons seem to think they deserve the Grey Cup. That will come soon enough but it was completely unrealistic for this season. They will finish with more wins than last, and they will be a force sooner than later. In tough times the trolls come out. In good times they won't be seem. Figures don't it?

Toronto has the highest attendance in the entire MLB American League this season. Why can't a city with a 5.8 million population in greater area get more than 15,000 fans to a football game? No excuse, move the ARGOS now.

Tell me how BLM new that the Riders were going to be called out before our beloved commish handed out the fine? If that right there does not tell you something is going on or another team has it out for us you are not thinking clealy. If not please explain to me how BLM has inside info?

It's his support staff that he hired around him that will allow and does allow him to do his job.

He has Murphy & O'Day handling alot of the work. Yes he is involved but if it wasnt for his management support, it woukd probably be quite hard for him to wear all titles.

If we would have kept Taman I believe we may have won more games at this point with an old and aging roster that isnt going anywhere. Would be just competitive enough to give the fans hope only to fall short.

Like it has been said before and probably will be said again, Huffnagel and Buono run the League. This has been known for years. Huffnagel lost a key player recruiter and it irked him. It may also tell you all is not well with the Huffnagel camp when people want to get out of there. What did Huffnagel promise Murphy?? Maybe somebody else had some integrity issues?? BC have long had their issues with coaches who Wally fired and seemed to think he was the only one to deliver. Look at the guaranteed win night a couple seasons back. By todays standards Orridge would have fined them $25,000 for conduct detrimental to the league. But then again I doubt it considering the moron who runs the team.

It's not hard to tell that Huffnagel had his hand in it, hence the tweet by Mitchell. This wasn't league driven but by a couple people. This wasn't very serious by these two men used their minion to make a scene out of nothing much. Many teams have done far worse without fanfare.

Rider fans in Calgary, BC and across the league should stop coming to games with the Riders and let the money dry up. A lot of stadiums would be 1/3 to 1/2 empty. The Riders should examine any MOU's and where possible shut off the water supply. The Riders should appeal this decision and demand to see the contents of the so called "investigation". They should have a hearing officer subpoena BLM and demand to know where he learned of the contents of the investigation. There is a lot of garbage that needs to be exposed and it's not the Riders who will be exposed. Interfering with the League office shows conduct detrimental to the game and it needs to be exposed. Those involved should be run out of the game. There is a lot more garbage in the background and the fans will "NEVER" be happy about this and the League until it is exposed and people involved exposed.

Trolls and their agendas !!! Get back down under your bridges where you belong. You and the like of you don't deserve to be on this blog. Instead of pick the store fronts out from nine pics, there should be a minimum intelligence quiz. It would get rid of a bunch of mentally deficient warts...

Opponents typically chart all the plays of the teams they play against. Im pretty sure no one in head office is capable or at least do they have the resources in the office to do all the games each week so this came from an opposing team.

I bet this roster ratio thing has probably happened many many many times over the years and coaches typically dont say anything as they may all be guilty here and there.

Someone somewhere has a hate on for Jones and staff. Maybe Huffnagle cause we hired Murphy. Could be Hervey in Edmonton. Could be alot of things. Maybe Jones doesnt play nice in the sandbox with the others so they are mad.

I think we ride it out because I think it'll be a smooth ride down the road.

First, this is not the way to say fond farewells to the grand old lady known as TAYLOR field. The spirits running there must be shaking their collective heads.

Second, this us against them mentality is doing us no good, and quite frankly, has to stop. I like to think we have moved past this, but getting twisted over what Suitor says? C'Mon man!

Third, what concerns me is that the fans are getting no enjoyment out of the games. It's like despair has set in when you look into the stands. Fans gloomy in the second quarter for heaven's sake.

Fourth, I don't see any better recruitment than previous regimes. Particularly disappointed in the Import line talent or lack of same. It was almost laughable to watch a lineman that appeared to be at least 8 inches taller and 80 pounds heavier be made into a human turnstIle by Charleston Hughes.

What is the strength of the team right now? A glut of quality kickers. We are last in the league in everything else, including quarterback. Not negative, just reality.

No creativity in the playbook...crappy special teams, lines getting pushed around...does it make a difference if we get beat by 9 or 39? And to think how the previous regime got villified...wow!

My dad used to say you didn't know anything until you saw the bear (defecate) in the bush. (I wonder if they heard of that phrase in Tennessee) I said before that this jug-eared, back woods hillbilly would not be the savior, and, sadly, I am right. You can only get so far with 'howdy's' and 'y'all's' before the whole schtick just unravels. The bear crap is pretty smelly, as witnessed by the 1-6 record.

If this team makes the playoffs, pigs will fly, and I will bet the mortgage on Leicester City to win the Premier League two years running. Not gonna happen.

And Rod, you knew in five minutes you jive with this man's way of thinking? You are a better man than I, Gunga Din!

I heard some people (incl, RP?) voicing their opinion that they will get even on the field. Past, business experience, both good & bad, has taught me that you have to attack the problem at it's source. For the price of the recent spate of fines paid out. The Riders could hire a couple of guys/gals to track the other teams in the league for the same so-called infractions the Riders were called out on the carpet for recently. The other teams infractions could then be given (or leaked) to the CFL league office or whoever & then these Rider attacks would eventually go away. Heck, lets take it one further & track the other teams for all infractions & set some or all of the infractions aside for the next time anyone tries to unfairly besmirch the Rider name. It's a proven fact that you cannot negotiate successfully from a position of weakness where we are at now. Successful negotiation is achieved when negotiating from a position of power & leverage (inter-changeable). This is, by far, the most effective way to grasp that power & leverage.

This has the makings of a great book (or "expose" series of articles) if a sports writer somewhere was to pick it up & run with it. The writer could also add the NFL & other football leagues if they needed additional filler, etc. This would forever level the CFL playing field & remove all bias. I would really like to see all the facts once they were all laid out. Especially, how CFL teams have historically cheated by hiding players & salaries to achieve their Championships & Grey Cup teams. This book or articles would force league-wide changes to be made to correct the inadequacies resulting in a better league. I also could see the book or articles being used later as a premiss for a movie &/or documentary.

I whole-heartedly support coach Jones & his coaches. There is no criticism from me as I understand what they're doing & where we will be in the future. It takes time to rebuild when 80%+ of the team is new. Be patient people. The Riders are being attacked because the other teams & league are afraid of what's coming. In the meantime the other teams would be more successful if they put the effort into properly market their product!

I would suggest all Rider fans boycott All remaining away games and watch Canadas team on the tube. Then lets see the effect we have on attendance and dollars to other cfl teams. This is a witch hunt, the cfl should be embarrassed.Just a thought.D

D H Bailey ... why don't you just pull your team out of the CFL completely and sit at home. Just because Pedersen has told you it's a witch hunt does not make it so. Your sweet innocent Jones has been thumbing his nose at the rules wherever he goes. If you think he was pure in Montreal? Think again. Calgary? Think again. Toronto? Think again. Edmonton? For sure think again, he was fined there so many times for being an asshole. Did you think that because he came to Saskatchewan that he was going to stop being so? No, Sask gave him even more power to flip his middle finger at the rest of the league. If you think it is a witch hunt, then just know that Jones has been a witch wherever he has gone. If you think Jones cares about Saskatchewan? Jones only cares about 1 team, team Jones. Ask every team he has ever coached.

I haven't read anywhere that fans are expecting a Grey Cup Team. I have read that fans want a competitive team that wins now and then. That isn't happening. Also this analogy that they lost the game in 3 plays has to be flushed. They are getting beat in all aspects of the game. This team has less talent now than it has had in the past few years. However our salary cap is under control. Or is it? We won't know until next year. Sure hope we don't try and hide anything there.

The league isn't targeting the Riders, they are targeting Jones who started painting the target on his own back with all of his transgressions while HC in Edmonton. It only makes sense to keep a close eye on the guy. And it paid dividends as he has been caught with serious ratio violations (good thing BC won that game or it might have been forfeited), illegally having guys on the 6game IR attend practice, huge illegal "Pre-Practice Roster", illegally having guys not under contract practicing with guys that are under contract etc.

Jones has said himself that he does things his way and doesn't care what people think of him. That fine as long as you are prepared to pay the fines and penalties for gross violations that you commit but it seems Rod Pederson and his followers think that this is persecution.lol

As to the fans who want to boycott games in response to fines that they don't like. It should actually be rephrased: "Lets financially punish the CFL because they fined us for cheating". Why go part way on this why not just have the Riders withdraw from the CFL, that will show them. The CFL will then play a 8 team league and the Riders will be left to play with themselves.

Quit with the Canada's team already, just because you have fans that moved from Sask to other provinces doesn't mean that all Canada cares...put money that all teams hometown fans could care less about the riders truthfully and also let's not make Canada look stupid by saying we all stand behind one of the worst teams in the history of the CFL. I think Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens would take the Canada's team bit by a long shot...especially seeing its Canada's sport.

Wow! Rod is as good at generating interest as The Don. Good to see the interest is there even at 1-6. Interesting how the comments are either pro or con ... not much in between. (Like today's politics) But I love to see the passion ... that's my SK ... we still have passion.

Hopefully Rod isn't teaching his children to bend the rules until they break, and if broken, he will defend them to the hilt. Like Marshall Hamilton, on "In the Huddle", the integrity of Roughriders has been damaged. The way Rod's Blog goes, it is acceptable to cheat because others are doing so. Great logic - NOT! Is this really the way to educate our children? Why does it take Reynold's to publicly apologize and take questions from the media and not Jones, who is accountable? Like Marshall Hamilton, the Roughriders are my team, and I am embarrassed.

If Rod really thinks he is the "Voice of the Riders", wouldn't he be taking Reynolds approach and take the high road?